1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus with a hand-shake (i.e., shaking of a hand holding the imaging apparatus) correction function, and more particularly to an imaging apparatus suitable for imaging a still picture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as a zoom factor of a digital camera increases, hand-shake (i.e., shaking of the hand) correction is becoming more and more important. Conventional technologies of hand-shake correction are disclosed, for example, in patent documents 1 to 3 (*1, *2, *3).
The camera disclosed in patent document 1 detects an eccentric amount of hand-shake along the optical axis, and indicates a direction to which the camera is to be moved so as to nullify the eccentric amount.
According to the camera of patent document 1, the user moves the camera according to the indication, and is allowed to have a wide stroke of hand-shake correction lens against hand-shake in any direction, so that a picture free from hand-shake can be obtained. That is, by manipulation by the user, the range of hand-shake correction can be utilized effectively. In this technique, however, the user must move the camera, and the user is requested to make complicated and difficult operations. Indeed it is considered that the user hardly has the freedom to take a desired picture freely.
By contrast, patent documents 2 and 3 disclose the technology of correcting image blurring automatically.
The image blurring correction technology of patent document 2 is directed to prevent a correction optical system from hitting against the limit of a movable zone (a region in which the correction optical system is moved for correcting the hand-shake). More specifically, when the correction optical system is near the limit of the movable zone, the correction optical system is centered before the correction operation of image blurring is started.
The patent document 3 discloses the technology of starting blurring correction by setting the correction optical system at the center position after pressing the release button (shutter button). More specifically, after pressing the release button, the mirror is moved up, the correction optical system is set at the center position, and the blurring correction operation is started. Then, the shutter is released to expose a film with adequate quantity of light, and the shutter is closed.
(*1) Patent document 1: JP 05-249529 A
(*2) Patent document 2: JP 01-131521 A
(*3) Patent document 3: JP 05-224270 A